Daniel Craig says he is happy for James Bond to drink Heineken in Skyfall, but
wishes he could get drunk or go skinny-dipping in real life.

Daniel Craig has defended product placement for Heineken in the new James Bond film, claiming that 007 is a lager drinker.

The actor added that he was happy to swap Bond’s trademark vodka Martini for a bottled beer because the drinks giant had paid “a ton of money” for the privilege.

In an interview marking the forthcoming release of Skyfall, Craig lamented that he is no longer able to get drunk in public because fans would take his picture and post them on the internet. “I’ve got to be high class,” he said.

Skyfall, the 23rd Bond adventure, has its world premiere in London on October 23 and is released nationwide three days later.

The decision to turn 007 into a lager drinker has upset some fans of the franchise. The super-spy has been drinking Martini “shaken, not stirred” since the first film, Dr No, in 1962.

The actor said Heineken’s money helped to meet the film’s costs. “A movie like this costs $118 million [£73 million] to make - it's the nature of it, the size of the movie. And it costs another $200 million [£124 million] to sell it. So the $200 million has to come from somewhere.

"Product placement, whichever way you look at it, whether you like it or you think it’s disgusting or whatever, it’s what it is.

“Heineken gave us a ton of money for there to be Heineken in a shot in a bar... Without them, the movie couldn’t get sold.”

Discussing the celebrity that comes with playing 007, Craig said: “Back in the day, you could go and have a drink in the bar, get drunk, fall over, have a good time and no-one would know about it.

“But now everyone’s got a camera. Not that all I want to do is get drunk in a bar, but that's an example. So you can’t live a normal life any more. Because it will become public knowledge that you’ve gotten drunk in a bar or skinny-dipped on a beach or something. Things that normal people do occasionally.

“I’ve got to be high class... Which is sad, because I like bars.”

Craig, 44, is fiercely protective of his private life, including his recent marriage to Rachel Weisz. In the interview, the actor revealed that he sometimes sends out one of his stunt doubles, Ben Cooke, as a decoy to fool the paparazzi.

He said: "When he gets dressed up is when he can really double me very well. I kind of send him out sometimes if I'm in foreign climes - 'He's here, he's here!'"

The full interview is in the November issue ofVanity Fair, on sale this Friday